From the gritty to sublime, Macon man’s photos capture wide array of life
He graduated from Westside High School in 2000, spent a while at Central Georgia Technical College and then graduated from Mercer University with a degree in human services-social work, but it was taking pictures that ended up catching Matt Odom’s eye.
The award winning Macon native opens his first-ever museum exhibit with a show called “Looking Forward, Looking Back” at the Tubman Museum. It runs through Jan. 24 in the BB&T Gallery.
“What the exhibit’s title means to me is that if you keep working hard at what you do — at being creative — if you keep steady at it and keep pushing, you can do anything,” Odom said. “I never imagined I’d be where I am today but I can look back at my work and see where I came from, I can see where I am and I can get a good feeling about where I’m headed. Having the collection of work at the Tubman is really, really a thrill. I love Macon, I still live in Macon and having my work up on the walls here is really something.”
Odom said a number of factors moved him from his early aims to photography, including the economy tanking in 2008, which helped move him out of work as a television news videographer and producer.
It was only about 10 years ago that he took photography seriously.
“I came to it kind of late,” he said. “In ’08 or ’09 I bought my first pro camera and started taking pictures. I was asked to do a wedding and the shots were halfway decent, they were, but all I did then and the pressure of doing weddings prepared me for the media and commercial work I do now.
“The first break I got in media was several shoots for Macon Magazine, then Georgia Trend started calling. That first shoot with Macon Magazine was architectural and I didn’t know how to do it at all so I stayed up most of the night watching YouTube videos about it. It turned out fine and got me my first cover photo. In the last several years, things have snowballed.”
The last few years have included significant work for significant media outlets and corporate clients. In 2017, National Geographic called, The New York Times has called along with the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press and many others.
His corporate clients include names like Ryder Trucks, John Deere, Dell, Wendy’s, Mercer University, Tractor Supply and the National Guard. Samplings of Odom’s work in all styles plus information about his business is at his website, www.mattodomphotography.com.
“At a certain point I looked at what I was doing and thought, ‘Yeah, this is pretty cool. I think I’ve found my calling.’”
Ongoing work and awards for what he has done substantiate that. Numerous awards and recognitions include things like top honors from the American Society of Media Photographers nationally and multiple 11th Hour Magazine Readers Choice Awards for best photographer locally.
Though he loves Middle Georgia, Odom is often in, around and out of Macon and the state for clients. His first 2020 road trip involves an elephant refuge in south Georgia that he’s shooting for Atlanta Magazine.
Officials at the Tubman Museum said they consider Odom’s work and his story inspiring.
“His work is beautiful, sometimes striking, and it’s always varied and inspiring,” said Harold Young, interim executive director and special events manager at the Tubman. “And who he is and what he’s accomplished fits our mission perfectly as we celebrate African American art, history and culture — which we’ve been doing for 30 years now. It’s exciting to showcase such a talented artist-photographer who’s from right here in Macon and be part of his growing career. It’s also important to give someone like Matt a platform to show others, and to educate young people, that it’s possible to develop your talents and have dreams come true. Matt is a great young man.”
Young’s excitement about showing Odom’s work made him look forward into 2020 himself and some of the things ahead for the Tubman. He said that includes the annual black tie fundraiser, “All that Jazz,” set for Jan. 25 and Pan African Festival coming the first week in May. Both are hallmark Tubman events in their 24th year this year.
Contact corresondent Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com
If you go
“Looking Forward, Looking Back: Photographs by Matthew Odom”
Where: The Tubman Museum, 310 Cherry St.
When: Showing through Jan. 24
Information: www.tubmanmuseum.com, 478-743-8544
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 10:29 AM.